The Loss Of A Leg
by Archive
Summary: What will Sonic do when he looses a leg? Rated for language and future chapters
1. Tragedy

I don't own Sonic, Robotnik, or any characher created by SEGA or Archie  
When I introduce my own characters, I'll tell you who they are.  
Now that this bull's out of the way....  
  
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Tragedy  
  
Sonic's leg felt like it was on fire. He had been running through one of Robotnik's factorys, distracting SWATbots when it happened: it was like a giant hand hit him from behind, sending him flying. Then all he knew was pain. He could vaguely feel that he was being carried. Then a needle was jabbed into his arm, bringing oblivion.  
  
Sonic was still hurting when he finally came to, though nowhere near as bad as he had been. His right leg hurt more than anything else. He opened his eyes to a hospital room and a very concerned looking Sally and Doc Quack.  
"W-what happened?" Sonic asked after making two attempts.  
"Robotnik has a new robot." Sally explained. "He calls it a Kamikazi bot. It's basically a giant bomb. One spotted you and detonated. We're not sure what they're made of but they're extremely powerful. There was no way you could have gotten away unscathed at the range it exploded."  
"It was a miracle you got off as lightly as you did." Dr. Quack added. "You recieved some burns, a few lacerations, nothing broken, it seems that all of the serious damage was to your..." Sonic's leg throbbed.  
"Hey, Doc, can I get a pain-killer or something?" the hedgehog interupted. "My leg's killing me." Dr. Quack hesitated. He and Sally looked at each other for a few moments. Finally, Sally nodded.  
"I can give you something for the pain." Dr. Quack said. "There's very little I can do for your leg, however."  
"What?" Sonic asked, not understanding.  
"It's called 'phantom pains', I won't bother you with the medical terminology." Dr. Quack said. "Basically, it's where  
the brain thinks it's receiving signals from body parts that aren't there." THAT hit Sonic like a ton of bricks. Before the others could stop him, he threw off the covers. The blue hedgehog couldn't believe what he saw, or rather, what he didn't see.  
His right leg was missing, amputated above the knee.  
"I'm sorry Sonic, there was nothing we could do to save it." Dr. Quack said. "It had been cut up by chunks of debree and severly burned by the explosion. The bones in your lower leg were broken in seven places. Your knee cap had shattered. I'm guessing that you landed on it when you hit the ground. We couldn't stop the bleeding. Much longer and you would have died. We didn't have a choice." Sonic just stared at them, his eyes wide.  
"Dr. Quack, could you excuse us?" Sally asked. The doctor nodded and left the room. "Sonic?" Sonic didn't say anything for a while. Then, slowly, his expression changed. Not, to Sally's surprize, to one of loss and sorrow as she expected, but to one of determination.  
"I'm not gonna let this stop me, Sal." Sonic said. "I'll run again. I just gotta figure out how to do it." Sally smiled sadly. She hoped he could hold on to that attitude, though she doubted it would last long.  
"Is there anything I can do for you?" the princess asked as she stood to leave.  
"Not reall...just a sec, could I borrow Nicole whenever you don't need her?"  
"Nicole?" Sally asked, startled. "Umm, sure. Why?" She took the small supercomputer out of her vest pocket and handed it to Sonic.  
"I wanna keep occupied." the hedgehog answered. "You knw, so I don't go crazy with bordom."  
"Oh." Sally said. "Well, I'll see you later."  
"What's up, my main hedgehog?" Sally heard Nicole say before she closed the door.  
"I've got a lot to learn." Sonic told the computer. "The faster I do it, the better."  
  
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So what do you think? I know this is a little short, but I couldn't really help it. A short, to the point chapter seemed appropriate. Hopefully, later chapters will be longer.   
  
Read, Review, Tell me what you think;   
Is it pretty good, Or does it really stink?   
  
Sorry, just had to get that out of my system. Serously, tell me what you think about it. I should be done with the next part in a day or two, so if you want to find out what happens next, you won't have to wait long. Till then, Caio. 


	2. Obstinate

I don't own Sonic, Robotnik, or any characher created by SEGA or Archie  
  
When I introduce my own characters, I'll tell you who they are.  
  
Now that this bull's out of the way....  
  
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Obstinate  
  
"Okay, Nicole, run that by me one more time." Sonic said as he rubbed his eyes.  
  
"Very well." Nicole said. "The product of an (m * n) matrix, A, and an (n * r) matrix, B, is the (m * r) matrix, AB. The element in the i-th row and the j-th column of AB is the sum of the products of the corresponding elements in the i-th row of A and the j-th column of B. Multiplication of matrices is not commutative. Knowing this, what is matrix AB when matrix A has a row one of 2 and -1 and a row two of 3 and 4, and matrix B has a row one of 3, -9, and 2 and a row two of 5, 7, and -6?"  
  
"Gimme a sec..." Sonic said as he ran the numbers through his head. "2 times 3 plus -1 times 5 is 1, 2 times -9 plus -1 times 7 is -25................row one of matrix AB is 1, -25, 10 and row two is 29, 1, -18."  
  
"Correct." Nicole said. Then she slowed down to a normal rate of speech. "Sonic, perhaps you should take a break."  
  
"Say wha'?" Sonic said as he slowed himself down, not catching all of what Nicole said. The mini-computer repeated herself. "I'm fine. Come on, Nicole, put the pedal to the medal. I've still got a lot to learn."  
  
"You've already processed an astonishing amount of data in the last few days, Sonic." Nicole said. "A few hours will do you no harm and could do a great amount of good."  
  
"I'm stuck in a hospital, Nicole." Sonic pointed out.  
  
"Dr. Quack is keeping you here for form more than anything else." Nicole countered. "You have pain medication and salve for the burns. You're stiched up and healing. You'd probably be out already if Dr. Quack didn't want to run a few tests to try and figure what the source of your speed is."  
  
"I'm waiting." Sonic said impatiently. Nicole was silent for a minute.  
  
"No."  
  
"Say what?"  
  
"I refuse to tudor you any more until you rest a few hours and ingest something other than hospital food." Nicole said. "Until then, I may as well be with Sally." With that, she shut off.  
  
"Nicole!" Sonic snapped, shaking the mini computer. She reactivated.  
  
"Shaking me won't do you any good, Sonic." Nicole said. "And if I break, I can't help you at all." Before Sonic could say anything, she deactivated again.  
  
Luckily for Nicole, that was when Tails walked in.  
  
"How you feelin', Sonic?" the two tailed fox asked.  
  
"'Bout ready to throw Nicole in the trash." Sonic replied. "Other than that, I'm cool."  
  
"You want me to work with her?" Tails asked.  
  
"Nah, she's right, I need some fresh air." Sonic replied. "And some real food. I can't figure how they make hospital food so tasteless. I wouldn't make Snive-ly eat the stuff."  
  
"What about Robotnik?" Tails asked, laughing.  
  
"Dunno." Sonic replied. "Depends on how pissed at him I am."  
  
"Well, Dr. Quack said your good to go." Tails said. "I was wondering if you wanted to go fishing with me and maybe get some chili dogs later."  
  
"Sounds like a past cool plan, Little Bro." Sonic said, grinning.  
  
"Great!" Tails exclaimed. "We can... what's wrong?" Sonic was glaring at something past him. Tails turned and spotted the nurse that had just entered the room, and what she brought with her.  
  
"What the hell is that?" Sonic demanded.  
  
"It's a wheel chair." the nurse said in the sweet tone of voice that also said, 'Isn't it obvious, you dumb shit?'. "It will let you get around easi.."  
  
"Hell no." Sonic interupted. "There's no way I'm gettin' in that thing. I'm gonna get around by myself. No one's gonna wheel me around on a damn easy chair."  
  
"But, sir.." the nurse began.  
  
"What part of 'NO' don't you understand?" Sonic demanded. "Is it the 'N' or the 'O', or just the part that means I'm not gonna do what you want me to?"  
  
"Is something wrong?" Dr Quack asked as he entered the room.  
  
"Doctor, the patient is refusing to use the wheel chair."  
  
"Doc..." Dr. Quack held up a hand for silence. Sonic looked at him stubornly, the nurse exasperated, and Tails a little unnerved.  
  
"I had a feeling you wouldn't like the wheel chair, so I brought these." Dr Quack said, holding out a pair of crutches. He handed them to Sonic. "I figure you'll either master these quickly or fall down so often you'll beg for the wheel chair." With a little help from Tails, Sonic stood up and got the crutches in position.  
  
"I'll figure out how to use there, even if it kills me." Sonic said. It took Sonic a couple of tries, but he finally got out of the room, then down the hall. By the time he got outside, Sonic didn't have any trouble using his crutches.  
  
"So where you wanna go?" he asked Tails as they waloked away from the hospital.  
  
"I was thinking the bend in the river just past the bridge." the small fox replied.  
  
"Cool, you can get some huge trout there.' Sonic said. "I'd race ya there, but I dont wanna have to get any stiches redone."  
  
"R-race?" Tails stammered. Sonic was his hero, he believed the hedgehog could do just about anything, but running without one of his legs was a little much.  
  
"C'mon, Tails," Sonic exclaimed, "I'm not helpless! I've still got my good ol' Sonic Spin! It might wobble a bit without my leg, but I can still move! At least I can after Doc Quack pulls out my stiches."  
  
"Oh, I hadn't thought about that." Tails admitted. "Sonic...how can you stand it?"  
  
"Stand what?"  
  
"Not being able to run." Sonic didn't answer for a couple minutes.  
  
"It ain't easy, little bro." Sonic finally said. "When I saw my leg, it was like time stopped. I dunno how long it was, couldn'ta been more'n a couple seconds, but I almost ended it. But I realized something. That's how a coward thinks. I ain't gonna go like that. I've got it too good. I've got friends: Bunnie, Sally, Rotor," Sonic glanced at Tails and grinned, "you. Even Ant'. I'm not gonna throw all that away. Once I figured that out, the rest was cake. I gotta figure out how to run again."  
  
"How you going to do that?" Tails asked. Quickly, he brushed the tears from his eyes. This was the closest thing the two tailed fox to a speech he had ever heard Sonic give, and that made it even more powerful. The thought that Sonic had considered killing himself terrified the little fox, but he knew that Sonic was going to be okay, maybe better than ever.  
  
"I haven't exactly figured that out." Sonic said, grinning sheepishly. "It'll come to me sooner or later. Come on, let's forget about my leg. How you want your fish sticks?" On that note, Sonic and Tails headed for the river.  
  
Stupid shit-hog. thought an individual hidden in the shadows. Thinks he's so great. What'cha gonna do now that ya gotta move like the rest of us? Nothin', that's what. Now you're no better than the rest of us. Heh. Course, you're such a stupid crap, I'll probably have to drive that into your thick skull.  
  
Losing a leg hadn't done anything to Sonic's cast. The hook still went where ever he looked. Before long, he and Tails were relaxing, waiting for some unlucky fish to take a bite. Sonic scratched an ear lazily.  
  
"What's Sal and the others doin' lately?" he asked suddenly.  
  
"Antoine's the same as always." Tails answered. "Bunnie's working on a surprize to cheer you up, that's why you haven't seen her yet. Um, don't tell her I told you about it."  
  
"My lips are sealed." Sonic said with a grin.  
  
"Rotor's been working on a solar power generator." Tails continued. "I think he's missing a part though. He and Aunt Sally keep looking at that holo-map in the War Room."  
  
"Why didn't they come get Nicole?"  
  
"Idunno. I guess they didn't want to bother you if they didn't have to."  
  
"Well that was slow. Here, take Nicole to Sal for me." Sonic tossed the mini computer to Tails.  
  
"You sure?"  
  
"Absolutly." Sonic said. "Go on, juice. I'll keep an eye on your pole."  
  
"Okay, Sonic." With that, the young fox flew off.  
  
Shit-hog's finally by himself. thought the hate-filled individual. He glared at the blue hedgehog from the bushes. Now's my chance to show him what a real hedgehog's like.  
  
"You can quit hiddin' now." Sonic said suddenly. The blue hedgehog looked right at the hidden individual.  
  
Sonic watched as a dark blue, almost black, hedgehog walked out of the bushes to his left. If, as the saying went, one really could glare daggers, Sonic would have looked like a pin-cusion. The hedgehog tossed a large riverstone from one hand to another.  
  
"How the mighty have fallen." the dark hedgehog sneered. "How's it feel to be a worthless fuck?"  
  
"Dunno." Sonic replied easily. "Why don't you tell me?" The other hedgehog's sneer turned into a snarl.  
  
"Time to step off your pedistal, Speedy. Or is that Stumpy now?" Sonic made a quick guess to what the other hedgehog's problem and acted.  
  
"Whatever tops your dog, wannabe." the blue hedgehog retorted, turning his attention back to the river.  
  
"Wan-wannabe?" the other hedgehog sputtered. The hatred in his eyes intensified. "I'll show you who's the wannabe!" He hurled the stone in his hand at Sonic as hard as he could.  
  
As close as they were, anyone else would have been lucky to dodge the stone, especially lying down. Sonic just took his time. He could have easily caught the stone without hurting himself, but he had something else in mind. An instant before the stone struck, Sonic reved into a sonic spin. The attack split the stone in two. One half sailed along the river. The other went straight between the darker hedgehog's ears. The dark hedgehog felt between his ears with a hand that trembled and came up with blood.  
  
"Ya gotta wonder 'bout somethin'." Sonic said, motionless once again. "I can turn SWATbots into SWAT-heaps with that. Wha'd'ya think it can do to flesh and bone?" The darker hedgehog whirled around and crashed though the bushes as fast as he could. Sonic waited until the noise fadded.  
  
Hell, that hurt! Sonic winced. He removed his gloves and gently searched his body. He sighed when he felt neither blood nor broken stiches. All that small bit of bravo cost him was a little pain. Luckier than I should be.  
  
Stupid damn fuck. I'll show him. I'll show 'em all. Nothing but a damn fuck. I'll show everyone that's all he is. A fuckin' wannabe.  
  
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TO BE CONTINUED........MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!! Sorry 


	3. Explinations

I don't own Sonic, Robotnik, or any characher created by SEGA or Archie  
  
When I introduce my own characters, I'll tell you who they are.  
  
Now that this bull's out of the way....  
  
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Explinations  
  
Sally watched Tails fly off to rejoin Sonic and sighed, then headed for the War Room. She was glad the small fox managed to get the injured hedgehog to do something other than sit in bed all day. Sally was sure Sonic was suffering. She was half afraid he'd go mad. But Sonic wouldn't talk about it, or about what he was doing with Nicole. He just evaded the question with 'Just killin' time' or 'Nothin', really'. No one she'd asked had any idea what he was up to either. Then Sally stopped when she realized the only one she hadn't asked was the one who knew exactly what Sonic was doing.  
  
"Nicole, may I ask you something?" Sally asked, opening the computer.  
  
"Of course, Sally." Nicole responded.  
  
"What is Sonic doing?" Sally asked. "Why does he keep asking to borrow you?"  
  
"Sonic has requested that I tudor him." Nicole answered.  
  
"Tudor him?" Sally repeated, shocked. "Why? I mean, I'm glad he isn't wasting his time, but he's never been interested in school before."  
  
"Since he has not explained his plans to me, I can only hypothesize." Nicole said. "Given Sonic's personality, his state of mind, and his inquiries to future courses, I believe he will attempt to build and/or grow himself a new leg."  
  
"But that will take decades!" Sally protested. "He's got to get the learning first, then there's the research!"  
  
"I do not believe so, Sally." Nicole said. "At his current rate, Sonic should achieve his goal within the next few years. He has already absorbed an amazing amount of information since regaining consciousness. He has gone from very a basic education to late high school courses. If I weren't monitoring his vital signs to make sure he doesn't harm himself, I would suspect that he is a machine."  
  
"But how is that possible?"  
  
"Sonic is the fastest thing alive, Sally, and in more that his running speed." Nicole said. Sally looked at the mini-computer blankly. "I will try to explain. The average Mobian has a top speed of 20 to 25 miles an hour. For argument's sake, we'll say 25 mph. Sound travels at approximately 758 miles per hour at sea level. Sonic can easily exceed this speed, creating sonic booms, but since his top speed is unknown, as well as for argument's sake, we'll say he moves at 750 mph. This is 30 times the average Mobian's speed of 25 mph. To do this, he must process information at an equal, or greater, rate of speed."  
  
"I think I understand what you're saying." Sally said slowly. "But still, shouldn't it have taken Sonic months to learn what he has instead of days?"  
  
"Negative." Nicole answered. "Your mentor, Julayla, and Rosie made sure you all had a basic education, such as math and english, so Sonic did not have to start at the very beginning. He also decided to leave his grasp of english where it is for the time being."  
  
"He would." Sally said dryly.  
  
"Sonic is not taking any of the basic electives, such as Reading, PE, and Art, either." Nicole added. "But to continue, the average Mobian goes through school very slowly. In Mobotroplis, the average class lenghts were 45 minutes or 80 minutes, depending on the area and how courses were set up. We'll use the 80 minute class." Nicole paused for a moment.  
  
"Sonic is not taking the breaks average Mobians do." Nicole said, continuing her explination. "Out of 24 hours, Sonic sleeps roughly 8. About another 8 hours are used during medical examinations, eating, short breaks, visits from friends, and misc. stops. This leaves 8 hours for Sonic to study. 8 hours is 480 minutes, times the 30 times rate of speed is 14400 minutes. Dividing this time by the 80 minute class gives us 180 class periods. Since there are usually 4 periods a day when classes are 80 minutes long, this is the same as 45 days of school in 8 hours." Nicole paused for a minute before continuing again.  
  
"The year is 52 weeks long. 8 of those weeks are during the summer season, during which, in most cases, no one goes to school, leaving 44 weeks, or 308 days. Out of that, 88 days are weekends. Also, approximately 25 days are holidays, leaving 195 school days. This means Sonic, at the rate of speed discussed, completes one full year of school every 4.33 days. If he had started with no education at all, he would recieve his High School Diploma in roughly 52 days. However, you must keep in mind that we are not taking every second into account, nor are we discussing Sonic's max speed, so these figures are nowhere near exact."  
  
"That's... amazing!" Sally finally said.  
  
"Affirmative, Sally." Nicole agreed.  
  
That's incredible! Sally thought. Sonic's never used his speed for anything other than running. I never would have guessed that he could do something like that. He always complains that thinking makes his head hurt. Sally rubbed her left temple, then smiled. Now I think I know what he means. But I wonder... is Sonic just impatient, or does he have trouble going at the same speed as the rest of us? Sally was nearly to the War Room before Nicole interupted her train of thought.  
  
"Once we have completed the mission, I would like to speak to Sir Charles before returning to Knothole." Nicole said. "He should be informed that Sonic has recovered, and I would like to speak to him."  
  
"I hadn't even thought about Sir Charles." Sally said, feeling a little guilty about it. "We'll stop by."  
  
"That is the one way I'd never expect my nephew to react to his situation." Uncle Chuck said, several hours, and one succesful mission, later. The robotic hedgehog smiled. "I'm proud of him. Not only is he refusing to let this get him down, he's determined to overcome it. And knowing Sonny-boy, he won't stop until he's destroying the sound barrier again. Now then, what did you want to talk to me about, Nicole?"  
  
"You were the one who designed and built me." Nicole said. "Is it possible for you to build another unit?"  
  
"Of course." Uncle Chuck replied. "I'd need some time to get the parts, but I could create another in a couple of months. Sooner if I can find where Robotnik threw the things from my lab. Why?" Uncle Chuck blinked when he realized what Nicole was planning. "I see."  
  
"Sonic should have a unit of his own." Nicole said, confirming Uncle Chuck's guess. "I belong to Sally, and should be on hand whenever she needs me. Besides, Sonic requires a unit with a personality, which I do not have. Though I can mimic Sonic's personality for self-defense, any unit Sonic has should be able to interact with him."  
  
"That's a good point." Uncle Chuck said. "Hmmm... most of the spying I do can be done by remote, for a little while at least. I'll start as soon as I set things up. That's a good idea, Nicole."  
  
"Thank you." the mini-computer said. Just then, Sally walked out of the bathroom. "I have finished speaking to Sir Charles, Sally."  
  
"What did you need?" Sally asked, taking the computer back.  
  
"I will explain on the way home."  
  
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Okay, I lied about being done in a couple of days, sue me. At least I made up for it by posting two chapters.  
  
Hopefully I'll take less time with chapter 4.  
  
So what do you think? I started wondering how fast Sonic could learn if he put his mind to it, and this is the result. Actually, it was that question that started this fic. I hope it wasn't too boring, but if it was, TOO BAD!!!   
  
Okay, so what do you think should happen? Except for a little here and a little there, I'm writing this off the top of my head. Who knows, if you give a suggestion, I may just use it.  
  
I fixed the settings(I think) so you shouldn't have to be a fanfiction.net author to review my story. I'm not sure how that happened, but now that it's fixed(hopefully) I'd apprecate it if readers would review.  
  
Now here's where I take some of the reviews and answer questions and reply to comments. Since I actually got a few, I'll start with it now.  
  
I call this little section:  
  
Reviewing the Reviews  
  
From: Vincent Valentine  
  
Needs to be formatted a bit better.rnYou should also work a bit on the dialouge.rnrnrnI liked this story, it's pretty original.  
  
Glad you liked it, Vincent. Hopefully both the formatting and the dialouge have improved, and will continue to do so.  
  
(I just reread chapter 1. The dialouge is kind of jerky and pathetic all around isn't it? Still, I'm too lazy to rewrite it right now. Maybe later.)  
  
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From: Cirrus Verant  
  
Hmmm.rnrnNot bad, not bad at all.rnrnThere are a few problems. For one thing, my esteemed colleagues and I agree that someone like Sonic would take the loss of a leg a bit... uh, infuriating. Remember, this is an opinion straight from the office (or, at least the Graphics department). You might want to think about changing Sonic's opinion.rnrnNow, another thing is medical inaccuracy. A doctor is not supposed to amputate without the patient's prior consent, at least in Canada and Japan. That is, if the patient is in any condition to permit the amputation.rnrnDon't get me wrong, though, all in all, I'll be interested to see how this turns out.rnrnrn~~Cirrusrn  
  
I hope chapter 2 cleared things up a bit, Cirrus. It's my belief that Sonic would be in too much of a hurry to get back on his feet to waste any time sulking/being gloomy/suicidal/etc.. Also, as i hope you can now see, he is NOT dealing with this perfectly. As for the medical junk, idunno. I'm no med student. I would have figured that if a doctor couldn't reveve her/his patient to ask permission, and the situation was life threatening, he/she could go ahead and lop the thing off, but I'd be the first to admit I'm probably wrong. But can't relatives give permission in that situation? Any way, I screwed up, and, truth be told, I won't be doing too much more medical stuff, so id doesn't matter too much. I'll probably screw that up too. Thanks for writing and tell me what you think about these two chapters!  
  
Quick question though. What office? Do you work for Sega or Archie or something?  
  
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From: Latifah27   
  
cool! please continue this!!! i love stories like that! i'm guessing that sally's gonna comfort sonic, and he's gonna have to learn to adapt... kinda like the fics i write! and yes, i love torturing my favorite characters. i'm bad.  
  
Glad you like, Latifah27. ? As for Sally comforting Sonic, maybe. Of course she could get sick and die, or get pulled into the Void, or become a nun, or join the circus, or get kidnapped by aliens, or.... ahem. Just about anything could happen. Like I said above, beyond a few things that WILL occur, just about anything could happen. Tell me what you think about about what happened this time.  
  
(No, nothing like that's gonna happen, I was just goofing around. Sally's safe and sound and dating...somebody. I'm not gonna tell you who! ^_^)  
  
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From: Chaolin Chako (http://www.fanfiction.net/profile.php?userid=322733)  
  
It even had That Dr. Quack.... I wonder... is he just some psyco Physician? ***Spoiler alert*rnI plan to make a fic that he turns on Sonic and friends...  
  
.....why didn't I think of that? Thanks, Chaolin, you've got some of my creative juices flowing. I probably won't use it here, but Doc Quack would do good in a Jeykll/Hyde scenario. Did I spell either of those names right?  
  
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Well that's it for this time. Caio. 


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